NEW
YORK, July 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The
American Group Psychotherapy Association announced research
demonstrating that group therapy is an effective mental health
treatment that can respond to the mental health crisis in the US by
increasing access to services while containing costs for patients,
providers and third party payers.
Group therapy can respond to the US mental
health crisis by increasing access while containing costs.
According to the White House (FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris
Administration Highlights Strategy to Address the National Mental
Health Crisis | The White House), the USA is currently in the midst of an
unprecedented mental health crisis (The State of Mental Health in
America | Mental Health America (mhanational.org); Mental Health in
America: A Growing Crisis (psychiatrictimes.com), with a drastic
increase in demand for services while there is a workforce shortage
in terms of availability of therapists to meet that demand. Mental
health networks are also described as "ghost networks" by
legislators, with up to 80% of therapists on provider networks
unavailable due to full wait lists or no longer being in practice
(Congress urged to tackle 'ghost networks' amid mental health
crisis | The Hill.)
An analysis published in the leading American Psychological
Association journal, American Psychologist shows that if 10%
of the unmet need for psychotherapy in the US was met with group
therapy and not individual therapy:
- 3.3 million more people would be served, providing
significantly improved access to mental health treatment.
- The need to add new therapists to the workforce (currently at
34,473 additional therapists) would be reduced.
- Savings of over $5.6 billion in
mental health care costs would be realized (Whittingham, Mallow,
Marmarosh & Scherer, 2023).
Full citation: Whittingham, M., Marmarosh, C. L., Mallow, P.,
& Scherer, M. (2023). Mental health care equity and access: A
group therapy solution. American Psychologist, 78(2), 119–133.
https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001078
Martyn Whittingham, Ph.D., CGP,
Cheri Marmarosh, Ph.D., CGP,
Pete Mallow, PhD. And Michael Scherer, Ph.D. are a research team who
have been investigating the utilization and reimbursement of
individual and group therapy across third-party payers. They
modelled the impact of changing the way psychotherapy is delivered
nationally.
Their analysis states that group therapy is underutilized by
private practice. When looking at how individual and group therapy
are used nationwide under third-party payment, only 2% of services
in private practice are group therapy (most group therapy takes
place in inpatient and structured outpatient agency settings like
substance abuse clinics or hospitals, which is typically for
clients whose conditions have become more chronic and /or severe).
This leads to bottlenecks of care, as private therapists have full
caseloads and become unable to take on new clients when their needs
are less severe and can be managed in an outpatient setting.
As Dr. Martyn Whittingham states,
"The USA has the means to increase
access to mental health treatment. We need to incentivize more
groups in private practices and for psychologists and social
workers to use them more in primary care physician offices, where
people often turn to for help before problems become chronic and
severe. We also need therapists to get more training in learning
group theories and processes so that they will run effective,
evidence-based groups. We can also ensure quality by using outcome
assessment for both group and individual therapies."
Group is not just efficient, it is a highly effective treatment
option. A new Evidence-Based Group Treatment Website at
https://evidencebasedgrouptherapy.org/. underscores the
effectiveness of group as a treatment modality. This website has
been developed by an international team of renowned mental health
professionals and supported by the American Psychological
Association's Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy
(Division 49), the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA),
with funding provided by the Group Foundation for Advancing Mental
Health, and the German Health Ministry. The development team was
chaired by AGPA Past President Gary
Burlingame, PhD, CGP, AGPA-DF's lab at Brigham Young University and Bernhard Strauss, PhD's lab at the Institute of
Psychosocial Medicine, Psychotherapy, and Psycho-oncology at Jena
University Hospital in Germany.
Group Therapy is a "Triple E" Treatment. The meta-analytic
research and state of the field contained in this new website
demonstrates that group therapy is:
Effective – Effective for a wide range of conditions, including
but not limited to: depression, social anxiety and addictions
Equivalent – Equivalent outcomes to individual therapy for a
wide range of conditions
Efficient - Group therapy increases access to therapy as it
allows therapists to see more clients per week
In increasing the use of group in responding to the mental
healthcare crisis, this website can serve as a resource for
treatment information and the basis of trainings to increase
practitioner's skill and comfort in providing group therapy.
Moreover, agencies who provide the highest percentage of group
treatment in the US could extend their group treatment offerings by
employing evidence-based protocols found on the website for the
most common psychiatric disorders.
Gary Burlingame, AGPA Past
President, who has spent 25 years conducting meta-analyses
researching the efficacy of group therapy stated, "Group therapy
can play a major role in addressing the mental health crisis in
which needs outpace availability of providers. This website is a
valuable resource in providing access to information on the most
effective treatments for common mental health challenges."
Media Contacts:
Diane Feirman, CAE
AGPA Public Affairs Senior Director
dfeirman@agpa.org
212-297-2143
Martyn Whittingham, PhD, CGP
Owner, Whittingham Psychological Services
mswhittingham100@outlook.com
513-827-1430
www.focusedbriefgrouptherapy.com
Cincinnati, OH
About AGPA
The American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA) is the
foremost professional association dedicated to the field of group
psychotherapy, operating through a tri-partite structure: AGPA, a
professional and educational organization; the Group Foundation for
Advancing Mental Health, its philanthropic arm; and the
International Board for Certification of Group Psychotherapists, a
standard setting and certifying body. AGPA represents over 2,000
mental health professional members including psychologists,
psychiatrists, and social workers, as well as mental health,
family, and pastoral counselors, many of whom have been recognized
as specialists through the Certified Group Psychotherapist
credential. Its members are experienced mental health professionals
who lead psychotherapy groups and various non-clinical groups. Many
are organizational specialists who work with businesses,
not-for-profit organizations, communities and other "natural"
groups to help them improve their functioning. The association also
has 21 local and regional societies located across the country.
AGPA is committed to supporting the dignity and psychological
safety of every individual without discrimination regarding race,
ethnicity, gender, religion, sex, age, or disability. Central to
our mission is a belief in the power of groups to treat mental
illness, heal the scars from traumatic events, and enhance the
well-being of adults and children in their families, schools,
corporate settings, and communities.
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SOURCE AMERICAN GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY ASSOCIATION